Although the December holidays are all but a distant, fond memory (or a fuzzy blur if you’re 18-22 years old and jolled in Plett or St Francis), something lingers on in Trident’s memory. Every end of year holiday, there’s a new horde of non-coastal folk heading back north swaddled in surf branded clothing. Indeed, Trident sorta mentioned it in our first Top Five article of 2022.
So here’s the thing. Is it really that bad? Nah. Really, we’re not even sure why we’re writing this article. (Ed’s note: My thoughts would be two written warnings already, one more strike bru.) Anyhow… as it is, many of us will wear non-surfing brands as actual surfers. Shoe brands being a great example. No surfers are sponsored by Adidas or Puma, and Converse has become the statement-making brand rather than something we wear to play basketball. Nike has tried and failed several times to break into the surfing market, looking somewhat like a bunch of clueless jocks thinking they’re cool when they have all the credibility of Lance Armstrong. Who, coincidentally to this anecdote, was once sponsored by Nike. We think. Google it. Or not. We don’t care either way, Armstrong was a chop.
We digress.
What do surfers actually wear when not surfing?
Some of us surfers work in the corporate world. Again, no surfer would choose to wear neckties or office shoes, let alone suits or golf shirts branded with the corporate tyre company you were for. (Trident pities you if you actually enjoy wearing such affronts to the individualistic credo.)
Anyhow, what we’re driving at is the fact that wearing surf labels without being a surfer is tantamount to fraud. Hence; returning to Gauteng in a Vissla T-shirt after your coastal vacation is the equivalent of some doos wearing a Ferrari shirt with the impression he actually drives one.
To some surfers, wearing surf labels when you’re about as close to being a surfer as Joe Biden is, is sorta like wearing band T-shirts when you haven’t even heard of the band, let alone listened to them. (Ed’s note: C’mon! Do kids nowadays know that the cool smiley face icon is a band, not a clothing label named Nirvana?!)
One of Trident’s close compadres is moving inland for an extended but thankfully temporary period. He will no doubt be an anomaly up north in his surf gear, like someone from Pretoria will look a right tit paddling out at Supertubes in a Blue Bulls rash vest.
Wear what you damn will want, Trident says. Even if it’s a Quiksilver T-shirt in Gauteng. There is a wavepool up north after all. Although, Trident heard it’s a pretty kak wave.
